There
will be some familiar faces in the away dugout this weekend, with
Rotherham United the opponents. Managed by Andy
Scott, with Darren
Patterson as his assistant, Rotherham sit in tenth place – five
points behind us in the final playoff position. Between them they
spent a combined total of eleven years at Oxford, but it was a
miserable period for the club as it decayed under the ownership of
Firoz Kassam, eventually wallowing in the Conference.
Having been forced to play for 90 minutes with only ten men against the league leaders on Saturday, we could have forgiven the players for being a bit leggy for Tuesday's clash with Shrewsbury. With a makeshift squad flagging after Saturday's battle, to earn a point at the New Meadow should be viewed as an impressive result. That it felt like a defeat in the end belies the fact that a week ago we would have been delighted with four points from the last two matches. But after surrendering a two-goal lead in a game where we faded badly towards the end, it does provide us with an opportunity to discuss a problem that has dogged our season: fitness.
Saturday's
derby victory over Swindon was a glorious moment for Oxford fans -
a day to remember for everyone who was there to witness the first
time we've secured the double over our rivals in 38 years. However,
spare a thought for those exiled supporters who were unable to make
it to the Kassam, resigned to listening in on the radio or following
the match over the internet. Jack
Shoemark, exiled up in Yorkshire, relives the high and lows of
the day from his sofa in Hull.